Expedia names Mark Okerstrom as its CEO

Okerstrom has hinted at a possible future tie up between Expedia and Uber Technologies.

On Wednesday, Expedia Inc named Mark Okerstrom as its new chief executive and president. He replaces Dara Khosrowshahi who has been hired by Uber Technologies Inc as its CEO. Khosrowshahi however will remain as a board member at Expedia.

Expedia also disclosed that Okerstrom, who had been the company’s CFO and executive vice president of operations for the last six years, has also been elevated to the board.

“There was no other candidate that the board considered,” said Barry Diller, Expedia’s Chairman in a statement.

The company stated Okerstrom was Khosrowshahi’s “principal partner” in running Expedia.

During Khosrowshahi’s tenure, Expedia became the largest online travel agency by bookings and its stock price surged by more than 600%.

During a conference call with reporters, Okerstrom described Uber and Expedia as “complementary” businesses. He has also hinted at a possible future partnership between the companies.

“Given our close relationship, who knows? There’s probably ways that we can work much more closely together than we ever have before,” said Okerstrom. “We now have a much closer tie to Uber than we’ve ever had before. And, yeah, sure, keep your eye out. Maybe there will be something that comes out.”